Godhead Study Principles of studying Gods Word God's Word and His - PDF document

Godhead Study Principles of studying God’s Word “ God's Word and His works contain the knowledge of Himself that He has seen fit to reveal to us. We may understand the revelation that He has thus given of Himself. But it is with fear and trembling and with a sense of our own sinfulness that we are to take up this study, not with a desire to try to explain God, but with a desire to gain that knowledge which will enable us to serve Him more acceptably.” Manuscript 132, Nov. 8, 1903 “The truths most plainly revealed in the Bible have been involved in doubt and darkness by learned men, who, with a pretense of great wisdom, teach that the Scriptures have a mystical, a secret, spiritual meaning not apparent in the language employed. These men are false teachers. It was to such a class that Jesus declared: "Ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God." Mark 12:24…. The language of the Bible should be explained according to its obvious meaning, unless a symbol or figure is employed. Christ has given the promise: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.” John 7:17. If men would but take the Bible as it reads, if there were no false teachers to mislead and confuse their minds, a work would be accomplished that would make angels glad and that would bring into the fold of Christ thousands upon thousands who are now wandering in error. ” Great Controversy, page 598, 1911 edition, 'The Scriptures a safeguard’ “Christ came to preach the gospel to the poor. He reached the people where they were. He brought plain, simple truth to their comprehension . How simple his language! Even the poorest, the unlearned and ignorant, could understand him. Not one needed go to a dictionary to obtain the meaning of the high- sounding titles or words that fell from the lips of the greatest Teacher the world ever knew. While the priests, the rulers, and the expounders of the law were considering themselves as the only teachers of the people, he told these learned rabbis that they were both ignorant of the Scriptures and of the power of God. ” Review & Herald, July 19, 1887 - par. 13 “A great work can be done by presenting to the people the Bible just as it reads. Carry the word of God to every man’s door, urge its plain statements upon every man’s conscience, repeat to all the Saviour’s command: “Search the Scriptures.” John 5:39. Admonish them to take the Bible as it is , to implore divine enlightenment, and then, when the light shines, to gladly accept each precious ray and fearlessly abide the consequences.” 5T 388 “Through all these centuries the truth of God has remained the same. That which was truth in the beginning is truth now. Although new and important truths appropriate for succeeding generations have been opened to the understanding, the present revealings do not contradict those of the past.” Review and Herald, 2 nd March 1886, ‘The two dispensations’ “Those who seek to remove the old landmarks are not holding fast; they are not remembering how they have received and heard. Those who try to bring in theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning the sanctuary or concerning the personality of God or of Christ, are working as blind men. They are seeking to bring in uncertainties and to set the people of God adrift without an anchor…. When men come in who would move one pin or pillar from the foundation which God has established by His Holy Spirit, let the aged men who were pioneers in our work speak plainly, and let those who are dead speak also, by the reprinting of their articles in our periodicals.” Ellen G. White to the delegates at the 1905 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Takoma Park, Washington D. C., May 24 th 1905, "A Warning against False Theories," MR 760 “In every age there is a new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The old truths are all essential; new truth is not independent of the old, but an unfolding of it. It is only as the old truths are understood that we can comprehend the new. …” {COL 127.4} � 1

“Before the last developments of the work of apostasy there will be a confusion of faith. There will not be clear and definite ideas concerning the mystery of God. One truth after another will be corrupted. " Signs of the Times, May 28, 1894 - par. 1 "God help us to be Bible students. Until you can see the reason for it yourself and a “thus saith the Lord” in the Scriptures, don’t trust any living man to interpret the Bible for you. And when you can see this, you know it for yourself and know it to be the truth of God. You will say, “I have read it, I have seen it, and my own heart takes hold upon it, and it is the truth God has spoken to me from His Word.” Now this is what we are to be— individual Christians. We need to have an individual, personal experience. We need to be converted, as did the Jews. If you see a little light, you are not to stand back and say, “I will wait until my brethren have seen it.” If you do, you will go on in darkness." — Ms1-1889 (May 11, 1889) par. 63 - Ellen G. White The Trinity Doctrine - Definition “The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (from Latin trinitas ‘triad’, from trinus ‘threefold’) defines God as three consubstantial persons, expressions, or hypostases: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit; "one God in three persons". The three persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature ". In this context, a "nature" is what one is, while a "person" is who one is.” – Online Wikipedia “ The mystery of the Holy Trinity is the most fundamental of our faith. On it everything else depends and from it everything else derives. Hence the Church’s constant concern to safeguard the revealed truth that God is One in nature and Three in Persons. ” – Catholic Doctrine on the Holy Trinity - Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Official SDA Statement of Beliefs “ There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons.” God is immortal, all- powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present. He is infinite and beyond human comprehension, yet known through His self-revelation. He is forever worthy of worship, adoration, and service by the whole creation.” – Seventh-day Adventists Believe – An exposition of the fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, page 23, 2005 “While the Godhead is not one in person, God is one in purpose, mind, and character. This oneness does not obliterate the distinct personalities of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Nor does the separateness of the personalities within the Deity destroy the monotheistic thrust of Scripture that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God .” – Seventh-day Adventists Believe – An exposition of the fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, page 30, 2005 The “oneness” of God refers to the singleness of His being . In other words, the “oneness” of God refers to the fact that according to the Bible there is only one God, as opposed to more than one . - Handbook of SDA Theology - Vol 12, p 142 “The concept of the Trinity, namely the idea that the three are one, is not explicitly stated but only assumed.” — Fernando L. Canale, the Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopaedia, Volume 12, page 105, 106, 108, 138 - ’Doctrine of God’ “It was his (Christ) design that his disciples should take “It may be inferred from the Scriptures that the plain, unadulterated truth for the guide of their life. when the Godhead laid out the plan of They were not to add to his words, or give a forced salvation at some point in eternity past, They meaning to his utterances. They were not to put a mystical interpretation upon the plain teaching of the also took certain positions or roles to carry vs. Scriptures, and draw from theological stores to build up out the provisions of the plan.” (Trinity - some man-made theory. It was through putting a mystical These times - our times, June 1st 1981, meaning upon the plain words of God, that sacred and vital truths were made of little significance, while the ‘Frank Holbrook answers’) theories of men were made prominent.” Review & Herald, June 2, 1896 - par. 7 � 2